Contents

The Alliance Engineering Corps cuts roads through mountains and builds bases on asteroids. While the bulk of the AEC has active wartime duties, their brightest are helping build a device of Prothean origin recovered on Mars. Due to the staggering amount of raw materials required, the AEC has been given unprecedented emergency funding for any Alliance resources that will not interfere with the deployment of troops.

The last reports from the AEC were little more than officers screaming about rachni flooding into their barracks, scything through unsuspecting scientists. After a brave, but brief, battle, the core of the Alliance Engineering Corps was wiped out by their traitorous alien "allies."

The old saying "every marine is a rifleman" still holds true in the Alliance. Every marine enlistee, from clerks to sniper, goes through a period of infantry training. As a result, the 103rd Marine Division is Earth's largest collection of Special Forces soldiers. Officers from notable battles, such as the Skyllian Blitz and the First Contact War, run harsh training exercises in a variety of environments, insisting the marines be prepared to storm any beach, on any planet. This training has been useful in the Reaper War, as the 103rd can be fighting in the arctic desert one week, crawling through jungles the next.

Nicknamed the Bridge Burners, Team Zeta are combat engineers who specialize in destroying enemy fortifications in hostile territory. This tight-knit group of men and women are respected for their knowledge, renowned for their tenacity, and infamous for their enthusiasm.

The Alliance Marine Reconnaissance Unit flies recon drones and occasionally puts live recon teams into play. AMRU works hard to ensure information is up-to-date, using VIs to disseminate intel as quickly as possible.

UPDATED (Only if the player has not completed the Arrival DLC for Mass Effect 2)Military Strength:-50

Admiral Hackett dispatched marines to the planet Aratoht to rescue a deep cover agent, Dr. Amanda Kenson. The teams were killed in an explosion that wiped out both the colony and the system's relay. The Alliance spent weeks piecing together scattered radio transmissions, learning that the marines felt they had no choice but to send an asteroid into the relay to prevent invasion by the Reapers. While it bought the Alliance some time, the men and women lost on the mission were a severe blow to the 103rd Marine Corps.

UPDATED (If the player appoints the Grissom students to a support role)Military Strength:50

Biotic students from the Grissom Academy have joined the 103rd Marine Division as a support unit. The students focus their biotics into barriers that shield the marines and help control the flow of the battlefield.

When the Reaper called Sovereign attacked the Citadel in 2183, Rear Admiral Boris Mikhailovich led the 63rd Scout Flotilla against it. The 63rd suffered the fewest losses of any Alliance flotilla during the Battle of the Citadel, while providing critical support for the Fifth Fleet's carriers and dreadnoughts. The Alliance promoted Mikhailovich from Rear Admiral to Admiral after the battle, and tasked him with rebuilding and upgrading his ships.

The First Fleet was stationed near the Charon relay when the Reapers invaded the Sol System. By the time Admiral Hackett issued the order to retreat, its size--once the largest in the Alliance navy-- had been cut in half. Commanding Admiral Ines Lindholm made the painful decision to use a tenth of the fleet's remaining vessels as cover so the remainder could escape. Her gamble paid off, as the First Fleet limped out of the relay to rally with the rest of the Alliance forces on the run.

The SSV Agincourt was one of many Alliance ships that saved the colony world Elysium from pirates and slavers during the Skyllian Blitz in 2176. In order to stay with his vessel and crew, its captain refused promotion after the Blitz.

Thanks to Aria's hacker, the Cerberus files located in General Petrovsky's Afterlife headquarters were retrieved mostly intact. The encryption ciphers are complex, but Aria has her top technicians scraping the data for anything that may be of use to the Alliance.

Key intel on Cerberus activities in Alliance theaters has already been found, providing the forces fighting in those areas a tactical edge. In more heavily encrypted files, valuable threads are emerging that could uncover top-secret Cerberus operations.

The SSV Leipzig was the first Alliance frigate to field-test the Thanix cannon, a compact version of a Reaper weapon developed after the Battle of the Citadel. The Leipzig's captain was so pleased with the results, she gave her unconditional recommendation that the Alliance begin mass-producing the cannon as soon as possible.

UPDATED (If used to save the Council)Military Strength:-25

This fleet lost a third of its vessels protecting the Council during the Battle of the Citadel two years ago. Unfortunately, the Alliance did not have time to rebuild the fleet to its previous strength before the Reapers invaded.

Stationed at Arcturus, the Third Fleet is headed by Admiral Nitesh Singh. When the Reapers came for the station, Singh had already pulled his command ship, the SSV Logan, back to an ideal firing position for its mass accelerator cannons. The dreadnought's guns managed to slow down a destroyer before it could demolish the Third Fleet, but Singh was forced to retreat in the face of overwhelming opposition from the Reapers.

The SSV Nairobi is a top-of-the-line cruiser, with the showroom finish of a ship just off the factory line. As it has never seen warfare, the Nairobi's officers have been running mock battles in preparation for real enemy contact.

The Trafalgar was in the middle of an engine overhaul when a Cerberus flotilla engaged it in a firefight. Barely escaping on auxiliary power, its crew later finished upgrading the ship in record time after meeting Alliance forces.

UPDATED (If used to save the Council)Military Strength:-25

This fleet lost a third of its vessels protecting the Council during the Battle of the Citadel two years ago. Unfortunately, the Alliance did not have time to rebuild the fleet to its previous strength before the Reapers invaded.

Blaming humanity for the destruction of one of the batarian worlds, a batarian military officer has waged a campaign of sabotage against the Alliance. He hacked into Alliance ship systems, causing them to crash or lose oxygen in flight.

Requires: Promoting a multiplayer class.Military Strength:75 for each promotion

No species can remain neutral during the Reaper conflict. Allied forces are recruiting anyone, soldier or mercenary, smart, fast, and tough enough to survive galactic war. The most experienced operatives form squads to secure objectives, evacuate civilians, and battle Cerberus or the Reapers deep in enemy territory. Initially led by N7 Alliance marines, these squads have been nicknamed the N7 Special Ops. In light of these teams' exemplary service and remarkable bravery, the Alliance has allowed this unofficial name to spread across the ranks as a sign of respect for their efforts.

Note: This asset is retained for all playthroughs for the associated EA account provided that the servers are still active. With enough promotions, this asset can grow so large that it becomes impossible to achieve any of the low-EMS endings to the game. On PC, it can be removed temporarily by running the game in offline mode.

Requires: Only available if left behind on the Citadel.Military Strength:10

Dr. Karin Chakwas served on board both the SSV Normandy and the Normandy SR-2 as resident doctor and primary medical researcher. A graduate of Earth's prestigious University of Mumbai, Chakwas's research background has allowed her to contribute to the effort to decode the Prothean device found on Mars; some of its material components require careful chemical analysis to ensure they are used properly in the cooling systems.

First Lieutenant Kahlee Sanders joined Grissom Academy's board of directors after she gave up her military career. When the Cerberus raid on the academy was thwarted by Commander Shepard, Sanders joined with Alliance engineers working to recreate the Prothean device found on Mars. Her past work as a systems technician, specifically studying synthetic intelligence, has helped decode some of the complex feedback systems that control the weapon's energy.

Some of Grissom Academy's more technically minded students were saved from Cerberus by Commander Shepard. They've met up with Sanders, contributing their brainpower to some of the problems she's been tackling.

Jack, formerly known as Subject Zero, may be the most talented biotic of her time. After helping Shepard destroy the Collectors, she was offered a teaching position at Grissom Academy by the Alliance. Accepting the position for reasons of her own, Jack continued to hone her skills while training her students. Grissom Board of Directors member Kahlee Sanders has vouched for Jack's energetic, if unorthodox, teaching style, impressed with the inroads made with the children under the rogue biotic's care.

The Arcturus First Division is a volunteer army of civilians, paramilitary forces, and reserve soldiers, who have banded together to stop the Reaper occupation of the planet Benning. To avoid detection by Reaper forces, its members operate in cells, never staying in one place long. A handful of Alliance officers are coordinating the First Division, sharing intel and sending supplies to resistance soldiers. A few Alliance squadrons have been spared to support Benning's makeshift army with trained soldiers.

The Shanghai's most important part in the Reaper war to date was the evacuation of the colony Uqbar. Alliance intel reported Reaper forces headed toward Uqbar, but as a cruiser, the Shanghai was unable to land on the medium-gravity world. The Shanghai's captain quickly dispatched all its shuttles to help transport hundreds of colonists onto the ship. Making over 41 shuttle runs in a single hour, the Shanghai managed to evacuate the entire remaining population. When Reaper forces arrived, Uqbar's capital city was as empty as if it had never been inhabited at all.

Requires: Shepard must complete Cortez's plotline by speaking to him often enough aboard the Normandy and on the Citadel (however, romancing Cortez is not required; it is only necessary to complete the plotline and help Cortez achieve closure).Military Strength:20

When humanity began to expand its borders, experienced pilots were needed to establish colonies in the uncharted reaches of space. Some Alliance personnel heeded the call, and these luckless men and women have since been driven out of their colonies by the invading Reapers. After speaking with Lieutenant Steve Cortez, a few of these highly skilled fighter pilots agreed to fly against the enemies who destroyed their homes.

The Fifth Fleet became famous across the galaxy after spearheading Alliance forces at the Battle of the Citadel. It was guarding Arcturus Station when the Reapers attacked. After a bloody and desperate battle, Admiral Hackett gave the order to retreat, sacrificing the entirety of the Alliance Second Fleet to give the Third and Fifth the chance to escape. The Fifth Fleet's engineers are busy repairing its damaged vessels, grimly anticipating a return to Earth and revenge against the Reapers.

The original SSV Hong Kong was destroyed in the Battle of the Citadel, when its captain threw her ship in front of a blast meant for a dreadnought. The ship's frame was later melted down and incorporated into the framework of a new frigate "rebuilt" as its successor.

UPDATED (If used to save the Council)Military Strength:-25

This fleet lost a third of its vessels protecting the Council during the Battle of the Citadel two years ago. Unfortunately, the Alliance did not have time to rebuild the fleet to its previous strength before the Reapers invaded.

UPDATED (If the two businessmen on the Citadel were warned) Military Strength:5

A pair of entrepreneurs was persuaded to switch from creating financial programs to advanced weapon-targeting VIs, and to sell them to the Alliance just above cost.

When the original SSV Normandy was destroyed, Cerberus rebuilt the ship from stolen Alliance plans. Dubbed the SR-2, the Alliance took the new Normandy apart and refitted some of its systems with new technology of its own. As a result, the SR-2 Normandy is the highest-performing frigate in the entire Alliance navy, and possibly the fastest ship in its class. The Normandy is commanded by Shepard, an Alliance officer and humanity's first Spectre.

To bolster the Normandy's firepower, Commander Shepard installed a Thanix Magnetic-Hydrodynamic Cannon on the ship's undercarriage. Based on Reaper technology, the powerful weapon fires molten metal accelerated to a fraction of the speed of light.

Before taking on the Collectors, Commander Shepard reinforced the Normandy's superstructure with Silaris armor. This protective layer of carbon nanotube sheeting can withstand temperatures that would instantly vaporize more conventional armor.

The Normandy has been upgraded with Cyclonic Barrier Technology, allowing the ship's mass effect field projectors to fire rapidly oscillating barriers that deflect rather than directly absorb kinetic shocks.

Although the Normandy is tough enough to withstand ship-to-ship firepower, wear and tear takes its toll. The vacuum of space, solar irradiation, the retained heat of stealth mode, and the stress of burning a fusion plant all put stress on the ship's many complex systems. Alliance technicians have repaired, retrofitted, and tested the Normandy while it was in drydock, and they assure the crew that it will now perform better than ever before.

The crew of the Normandy, both past and present, have bonded over their shore leave experiences and vented stress that could otherwise damage their mental focus. They will fight for Shepard or for one another with renewed zeal.

Military Strength:10, 25, or 100(depends on amount imported from ME2 save)

Commander Shepard uncovered significant elemental deposits while scanning planets with the Normandy SR-2. When the Alliance dry-docked the Normandy, they seized all recovered elements. This material surplus has gone toward building the Prothean device discovered on Mars.

Note: Due to a potential bug, if the imported minerals are excessively high it is possible that only 10 military strength will be given, instead of 100. For instance should you edit your saves to acquire 500,000 or 9,999,999 of each mineral, this war asset will be worth only 10.

The asari Shiala was rescued by Commander Shepard from the Thorian on Zhu's Hope. Now she leads a militia of Zhu's Hope colonists waging a surprisingly effective campaign against encroaching Reapers. Shiala suspects the group's prior connection to the Thorian gives their soldiers an uncanny ability to sense one another, allowing them to think and act as one in battle. The long-term consequences of this connection are unknown, but for now at least, its effects are helping the cause.

Eden Prime is an agrarian world, producing millions of tons of food that is sold to less arable planets. The Alliance has set up supply lines from this colony to funnel excess provisions to its troops.

A few researchers who studied Prothean technology on Eden Prime avoided capture by Cerberus. They've forwarded copies of their work to the Alliance, hoping it can help build the Prothean device found on Mars.

Requires: Kasumi must have been loyal and survived the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2 and completion of the Citadel: Hanar Diplomat mission.Military Strength:25

Kasumi Goto is wanted in over a dozen systems for sabotage, hacking, theft, and a laundry list of other crimes. The Alliance is willing to overlook Goto's indiscretions in exchange for her help with the Crucible. In addition to her expertise with electronic security systems, Goto can acquire important technology thought lost or stuck deep in enemy territory. No one dares ask how she acquires these items.

Requires: The completion of Citadel: Volus Ambassador mission and Zaeed's survival in his loyalty mission and the Suicide Mission. Also requires the player to speak to Zaeed after the Citadel mission, at Cargo Hold: C in the Docks: Holding Area.Military Strength:25

Zaeed Massani had a reputation as one of the most relentless and efficient mercenaries in the Terminus Systems. Cerberus contacted Massani a few months after the Collectors were destroyed and offered him a job. Negotiations ended badly, and Massani now seeks out jobs that oppose his former employer's interests. He brings years of experience and finely honed survival skills to the fight against the Reapers.

In peace time, the Alliance's Naval Exploration Flotilla is used as a survey force to chart out new systems. The NEF came under fire in 2185, when several dozen service people were charged with withholding information on rich mining deposits in order to sell the locations to the exploration firm, Baria Frontiers. The Alliance attempted to hide the controversy to little avail, as more and more officers were indicted. Eager to bury its shady history, the NEF has dedicated its entire flotilla and material resources to constructing the Crucible.

Before fleeing Ontarom with Commander Shepard's help, technician Grace Sato saved a copy of the schematics for the Alliance's most advanced communications relay. Sato will use these advanced schematics to build several smaller arrays to collect crucial intel from points in various systems.

The Alliance's Sixth Fleet was traveling through Council space when Earth was invaded. The men and women on board watched helplessly as footage of the devastation rolled in. Their last order from Admiral Hackett was to avoid engagement and lay in reserve. After waiting for so long, the Sixth Fleet is eager to finally engage the enemy.

Half of team Delta's officers have an N5 designation, with a few N6 soldiers in the ranks. They specialize in conflicts outside Citadel space. Delta is known for strict admission standards, professionalism on high-stakes missions, and the Alliance's loudest parties. When asked how senior staff looks at their off-duty rowdiness, Captain Matthew Brown was quoted saying "After the shit we went through in the Terminus Systems, they're just happy we're not burning down the base."

By pooling their powers together, these gifted students from Grissom Academy can launch biotic artillery strikes that impact targets with the force of a bomb. The process is taxing, but devastates any enemy's front lines. While they've only had a few months of training, Grissom's students are eager to prove themselves in the war.

Ashley Williams served under Commander Shepard as Gunnery Chief aboard the original Normandy. After its destruction, Williams continued to serve the Alliance, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. An infantry soldier by training, Williams won commendations for her bravery, tactics, discipline, and marksmanship. She draws upon unique experience with the Reapers to enhance the effectiveness of the Alliance ground forces. Lieutenant Commander Williams has accepted the role of commanding officer overseeing several specialized quick-response teams performing covert infantry operations.

Kaidan Alenko served under Commander Shepard as Staff Lieutenant aboard the original Normandy. After its destruction, Alenko continued to serve with the Alliance. He rose to the rank of Major as the head of a new Alliance spec-ops training program--First Special Operations, Biotic Division. His experience fighting the Reapers is important to the Alliance, and so the Major now leads a biotic unit in their ground forces.

Synthetic diamond is a key ingredient in military-grade heat sinks that are used in computing, high-end thermal clips, and starship weapons. Liberating tons of it from facilities on Bres will help both ground and space forces.

Dr. Ann Bryson has survived her ordeal with Leviathan's artifact and retains most of her mental faculties. Her research into paleotechnology could be useful in understanding the Prothean device and the laws of high-energy physics that the Reapers seem to ignore.